New Microsoft Surface Laptop model with Core Ultra 7 268V and 32GB RAM leaks

Rumor mill: Microsoft touts its Surface devices with Snapdragon X processors as a paradigm shift in AI capabilities, efficiency and battery life. Finally, they used the device to launch the company’s Copilot+ branding. But now, after some impressive early results from Intel’s Lunar Lake Core 200V processors, leaks suggest that Microsoft will continue to update its Intel and Qualcomm-based Surface laptops in parallel.

A recently removed online store listing claimed that Microsoft is preparing a new Surface laptop with Intel’s recently launched Lunar Lake Core 200 architecture. Sources at Windows Central confirmed this information and claimed the notebook will be available sometime next year.

The device features an eight-core Intel Core Ultra 268V processor with integrated Arc 140V graphics, 32GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. According to the listing from Chinese retailer Goofish, Microsoft is expected to sell the laptop for around $2,500, although the seller has listed it for around $1,500. The seller emphasized that the product is an upcoming Surface model and not the recently released variant based on Intel’s Meteor Lake Core Ultra 100.

Further details such as the type of ad and the minimum price remain unclear. However, Goofish’s images don’t show any significant design changes over the latest Intel-based Surface devices. The Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 7, which launched earlier this year, feature Core Ultra 100 processors, NPUs and up to 64GB of RAM. MSRP starts at $1,200.

While the Goofish seller and Windows Central sources referred to the leaked notebook as the Surface Laptop 7, it could potentially be the Surface Laptop 8. The availability of the device is still uncertain, as the Pro 10 and Laptop 6 are currently reserved exclusively for business customers. The latest consumer-focused Intel Surface devices still use 12th and 13th generation processors with no NPUs to upgrade.

However, the Snapdragon Lunar Lake has challenged this assumption.

In recent benchmarks, Intel’s Core 200V has been found to outperform Apple SoCs in battery life. Additionally, Intel’s Xe2 Battlemage integrated graphics chip is said to outperform both the Snapdragon X Elite and AMD’s recently introduced Ryzen AI 300.

A Surface laptop with a high-end 200V chip could become one of the strongest offerings in its class. However, with Apple expecting to unveil a new MacBook Pro with the latest M4 processors before the end of the year, competition in the market could remain fierce.